Category Archives: Closed

[CLOSED] Revisit: Sankey’s Tap House

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It’s been 4 years sine we went here, and it’s changed a little.

The layout has changed a bit, it’s been decorated and refurbished. There’s two toilets now, not just a single one. The proprietor has settled in to the place and now seems entirely at ease: our first visit was very early on and he was getting to grips with it.

What hasn’t changed is that said proprietor is really friendly, the beer is still fantastic, the music is still present but not too loud.

It has continued table service after the lifting of Covid restrictions, and I feel this suits it well: the benefit of not having crowds around the bar.

Basically, it was great in 2017, and it’s even better now 🙂

[CLOSED] Sankey’s Taphouse

Sankey’s Corner, Burntwood, Staffs:

Brand new micropub in former council offices at Sankey’s Corner. I wanted to go to Backyard’s Tap Room, now open until 8pm, so continuing our journey into Burntwood seemed logical, so on we went.

It’s handy for the bus, and it’s pleasant inside. Like other micropubs, it doesn’t quite have the traditional pub feel, but also like others, it has great beer and wine, a great welcome, and the opportunity for conversation without loud music, so it’s a nice place to sit and drink. A great place, I hope it does well.

Closed: The Monreith Arms Hotel

Port William:

Another place we’d visited many years ago. It’s changed little: a bit down at heel, but given it’s in a small village capital to invest must come hard. No ale, but the Tennants was OK. People were eating, but we had a booking at a nearby restaurant. Landlord and locals chatty and pleasant- overall, I liked it as much as the quarter-century or so ago we last visited. There’s a few nice 30s details- terrazzo flooring, for example, and it could be *lovely*, given a pile of cash.

[Closed] The Eagle and Tun

Digbeth, Birmingham:

Now closed and demolished. Bastards.

Right next to The Woodman, another fine old Victorian pub, and another James & Lister lea building for Ansells. Empty and derelict since 2008, it was once a very sad sight, isolated while development went on around it, and with only local listing, the future didn’t look good- as recently as 2012, it looked like both would be flattened, along with The Fox and Grapes. As we’ve seen, The Woodman was saved first, and as we walked past on our last visit, we noticed the Eagle & Tun was about to re-open, and it now has.

It is well known for the UB40 Connection- the video for Red Red Wine was shot there, as was the cover for the first Best of UB40 album, as the studios for DEP International were just around the corner in Andover St.

Anyway, the pub itself? Outside is typical Brum terracotta. Inside is less salubrious than The Woodman, and a work-in-progress, clearly, but the atmosphere was pleasant (if cold!), the barman was very friendly, and the drinks cheap (and decent enough too, even if the HPA ran out before I got a pint). The pub is playing on the UB40 connection, with that being the choice of music. There’s still the stunning tiles at one end, and the feel of a proper Brum pub too.

CLOSED: The Prince of Wales

Norwich:

We dropped in late morning, for soft drinks, I hasten to add. The pub was just opening, and we were the only customers, but I suspect this would be busy at night: the road was dominated by pubs, clubs, and takeaways, and the this place was following the spoons/goose model of cheap food and drink. Ale was available, and the food really was cheap, though we didn’t try it. Barman was friendly and helpful too. pat of a chain I’ve not seen before, but it seems the Cat & Fiddle belongs.

CLOSED: Kings Wine Bar

Great Yarmouth:

It’s called a wine bar, but it’s a pub, clearly.

Not too bad, either. No ale, but respectable lager. Only real disadvantage being the UKIP-supporting racist idiot gobshite up the corner, who upon learning we were from near Birmingham, proffered “I’ll bet it’s spot the white man”. He proved to be a veritable mine of information, most of it wrong, and had his car keys in one hand, brandy in the other. What’s not to like?

Beside that, a nice enough bar. No food, friendly staff.

The Old Bush Inn

Pelsall:

[edit] Closed and mostly burnt down.

Another pub that’s seen varying guises: having been a bit of a food pub briefly, it’s now back to it’s original guise of a average, traditional pub just off the common.

Our visit was marred by the beer (my Pedigree was best suited to be used on chips, Stymistress’s budweiser had some of it spilled while being poured into the (plastic) glass, and the barmaid left some of it in the bottle until I asked), and the children whose parents allowed them to run around in circles. Now I know why I always head to The Railway.